The New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA) is the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. It is the largest chapter of the organization, with more than 15,000 members, ahead of DSA-LA.
DSA has been active in New York City (where it is headquartered) since the 1980s, but it became a serious political force after Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. The chapter began to endorse candidates in 2017, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In the 2020s, it ran several slates of candidates, winning elections at nearly every level of government. In 2025, NYC-DSA assemblyman Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor, following an upset victory in the Democratic primary and the subsequent general election. Mamdani's election spurred a growth of chapter membership and success in the 2026 elections.
NYC-DSA is made up of several local branches within the five boroughs and comprises working groups, led by its Steering Committee and co-chairs. Candidates go through a strict democratic endorsement process, and almost always strategically run on the Democratic Party ballot line. Elected officials coordinate with the chapter through city and state "Socialists in Office" committees. The chapter supports progressive reforms, with the end goal of a socialist economy. NYC-DSA's primary base is young renters, particularly in the "Commie Corridor", though its reach has expanded elsewhere. NYC-DSA has been criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, accusing it of anti-Israel sentiment, communism, and limited appeal among the working class. Socialist magazine Jacobin described the NYC-DSA as "the most dynamic and powerful left-wing organization in the country".
Organization and structure
NYC-DSA is the largest local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). NYC-DSA includes seven branches: Flatbush; North Brooklyn; Central Brooklyn; South Brooklyn (including Staten Island); Queens; Lower Manhattan; and Bronx/Upper Manhattan (B/UM). An estimated 2,700-3,000 members of the chapter reside in New York's 7th congressional district, while over 2,000 reside in the 10th district. As of 2020, over half of DSA members in New York State lived in Brooklyn. 500 members live in AD-36, 460 in AD-37, 220 in AD-34, and 200 in AD-70 as of 2026.
NYC-DSA has two leadership bodies: The Steering Committee (SC) and the Citywide Leadership Committee (CLC), both elected by members. SC is composed of 7 branch representatives, one elected by each branch; 2 Co-Chairs, 6 officers, and 2 coordinators, each elected by NYC-DSA membership as a whole. CLC is larger and meets less frequently, with more seats for branch delegates and 2 seats for Young Democratic Socialists of America delegates. The current co-chairs of NYC-DSA are Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mausser. NYC-DSA approved full time salaries of $95,000 per year for co-chairs in 2026. NYC-DSA members are also encouraged to join various Working Groups, which each focus on a specific issue, including Electoral, Immigrant Justice, Racial Justice, Ecosocialist, Socialist Feminist, Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy, Anti-War, and Labor. NYC-DSA's annual convention is the chapter's "highest decision-making body", which debates resolutions and constitutional amendments, and which sets priority campaigns for the next year.
Endorsements
Unlike most political parties, New York City DSA does not have a ballot line. Instead, NYC-DSA acts "like a party" or a "party surrogate" by endorsing and canvassing for candidates it supports. The NYC-DSA endorsement process requires candidates to complete a questionnaire, answer questions from NYC-DSA members at citywide and branch-based forums, and win an endorsement vote in the relevant local branches. If the candidate passes the branch votes, the Citywide Leadership Committee (CLC) votes on the endorsements. NYC-DSA endorsements are separate from national DSA endorsements.
NYC-DSA usually runs candidates on the Democratic ballot line to be viable, but is not "necessarily tied" to the party and hopes to build independent socialist power. NYC-DSA often collaborates with the Working Families Party, though DSA and WFP endorsees have competed against each other. NYC-DSA has a presence in local unions, including in the United Auto Workers.
NYC-DSA's Socialists in Office (SIO) committee coordinates between and communicate with local DSA-endorsed officials. If the committee comes to a consensus and adopts a position, NYC-DSA assembly members are expected to vote as a bloc. The committee also serves to insulate members from legislative pressure. Co-chair Mausser meets with Ocasio-Cortez's team monthly.
History Early history
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and its predecessor, the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee had a presence in New York City since the 1980s. DSA member Ruth Messinger was elected to serve as a city councilor and later as Manhattan borough president. DSA member David Dinkins likewise served as a state assemblyman and Manhattan borough president. Representative and former state senator Major Owens was a DSA member, though City & State notes that "his socialist pursuits never garnered much attention". Brad Lander, who served as a city councilor and comptroller, was a member of DSA from 1987 to 2023. Representative Jerry Nadler was a member.
In 1989, Dinkins defeated incumbent mayor Ed Koch in the Democratic mayoral primary, going on to defeat Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani. Despite Dinkins' association with DSA, "no one attributed his mayoral victory to the organization". According to Ross Barkan in The New Republic, in Dinkins' first year as mayor, he gave a speech to the Socialist International. However, in 1993, Dinkins lost re-election to Giuliani. In 1997, Messinger won the Democratic nomination for mayor, though ultimately lost to Giuliani.
In 2011, NYC-DSA activists participated in Occupy Wall Street, which animated leftists in the city and attracted many future DSA members. In 2021, Jabari Brisport wrote in The Forge that four years prior, the chapter was holding meetings of less than 30 people in Brooklyn. Peter Sterne wrote that before 2016, NYC-DSA acted as "little more than an advocacy group".
Rise in influence
The chapter, like the rest of the organization, significantly grew after socialist senator Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and the election of Donald Trump. Barkan wrote in Jacobin that Sanders' run "was almost single-handedly responsible for reviving DSA across the country and laying the groundwork for the New York City chapter's emergence as a force in local politics." Weeks after Trump's victory, NYC-DSA formed its electoral working group.
By 2017, NYC-DSA had at least 2,000 members. That year, it ran two candidates for city council: Khader El-Yateem, a Palestinian Lutheran minister, and Jabari Brisport, an actor. El-Yateem was the first Arab-American to run for city council, and tried to appeal to minority communities in City Council district 43 in southwest Brooklyn. Brisport ran on the Green Party ballot line in 35th city council district in central Brooklyn, protesting gentrification. Both focused on housing issues. Hundreds of DSA members volunteered for their campaigns. In November, Brisport lost to incumbent Laurie Cumbo with 29% of the vote, though this was the highest for an independent candidate since 2003. El-Yateem ultimately lost the Democratic primary to his opponent Justin Brannan. Carlina Rivera was a DSA member when she won her city council election that year. NYC-DSA organized with the Crown Heights Tenant Union against turning the Bedford Union Armory into luxury housing and pushed the city council to pass a police reform bill.
Hundreds of activists attended NYC-DSA's 2018 convention. The year prior, DSA activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez began her campaign for New York's 14th congressional district in the Bronx and Queens. She railed against incumbent and House Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley and campaigned for Medicare For All, a jobs guarantee, free public college, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. NYC-DSA endorsed and advised her campaign, with many members canvassing for her. In what has been described as "the most shocking upset" of the 2018 primary season, Ocasio-Cortez defeated Crowley with 57.5% of the vote. Ocasio-Cortez quickly became a national figure, and endorsed several other progressive candidates nationwide. Ocasio-Cortez easily defeated her Republican opponent in the November general election with 78%. The excitement around her victory contributed to an increase in DSA membership.
That year, DSA organizer Julia Salazar ran against incumbent Martin Malave Dilan in the 18th State Senate district in northern Brooklyn. Energized by Ocasio-Cortez's win, NYC-DSA ran an "aggressive ground game" in the district. Salazar criticized gentrification and claimed Dilan contributed to the eviction crisis. Salazar defeated Dilan and won her general election in a campaign that attracted wide attention. Salazar's housing bill in the state senate failed, though a separate tenant protection bill passed, partly attributed by Sam Lewis in Jacobin to progressive electoral victories. NYC-DSA also endorsed socialist city councilman Jumaane Williams for Lieutenant Governor and socialist Cynthia Nixon for Governor. Williams campaigned on criminal justice reform, gun control, and women's health. Nixon supported universal healthcare, universal rent control, and more affordable housing. Williams lost to incumbent Kathy Hochul with 46.7% of the vote, while Nixon lost to incumbent Andrew Cuomo with 35%. Williams went on to become public advocate in 2019 and unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022.
By 2019, NYC-DSA had 5,000 members. By then, NYC-DSA had joined local mobilization against the construction of Amazon HQ2 in Long Island City, citing concerns about corporate subsidies and gentrification among other criticisms. With the support of politicians such as Ocasio-Cortez and state Senator Michael Gianaris, as well as groups like the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union, the coalition built great public pressure against the deal. On February 14, 2019, Amazon announced that it would cancel the planned Long Island City location due to opposition, celebrated by NYC-DSA as a victory.
That year, the chapter endorsed public defender Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney. Cabán ran on ending cash bail and not prosecuting "crimes of poverty", including sex work and fare evasion. DSA "brought its canvassing army" to support Cabán, while the election became a "microcosm of the Democratic Party's deepening rift between progressives and moderates". Cabán appeared to win the election and declared victory, but after a recount requested by opponent Melinda Katz, she conceded after losing by 20 votes.
Socialist bloc